Retreaded tires are commercially available and provide an economical option to obtaining additional use of a tire after the tread has worn. The conventional process of retreading generally includes application of a length of tire tread, referred to herein as a tread band, to a tire casing from which the original tread band or a retread band has been removed. Prior to such application, the new tread band is manufactured by a process that includes providing tread features or tread sculpture to the tread band by means of a press operation.
Conventionally, the press is loaded by using a machine to drag the uncured tread band across the longitudinal length of the tread press until the tread is located in the proper longitudinal position. Lateral positioning of the uncured tread band in the tread press is manually provided. Unfortunately, such conventional method can lead to a waste of material and manufacturing complexities. For example, because the tread band might be stretched as it is as dragged across the press, additional thickness is sometimes added to the tread band to compensate for the stretching. Even with such compensation, such stretching may not occur uniformly along the length of the band. Improper lateral positioning may require discarding a certain section of the tread band. Manually checking and correcting the lateral position can be time and labor intensive.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an automated apparatus and method for loading a tread press that solves these and other complexities. An apparatus and method that further automates the tread loading process is also desirable. As will now be described, the present invention provides these and other advantages.